Control for fire apparatus and the like



March 24, 1931. v A 1,798,070

CONTROL FOR FIRE APPARATUS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-5heet l March 24, 1931. D N 1,798,@?0

CONTROL FOR FIRE APPARATUS AND THE LIKE Filed Sept. 5, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 /5 H 35 if if a fi 217 f0 Patented Mar. 24, 1931 CHARLES M. DEAN, OF ELIVIIRA, NEW YORK CONTROL FOR FIRE APPARATUS AND THE LIKE Application filed September 5, 1929. Serial No. 390,585.

UNITED STATS PAT'ET oi-"rlcr.

This invention relates to a mechanism or control for the ladders carried on fire trucks and the like.

It is aimed to generally improve and render an apparatus or mechanism of this character more eflicient and particularly one where a pair of springs may. exert action directly on the ladder or the like and a construction which avoids the use of a multiplicity of parts and elements now considered essential, such as forged hand gears, hold down hooks, hand brakes and the like.

Another object is to provide a novel construction and means whereby the ladder may be disposed and held at any desired angle.

Various additional objectsand advantages will be pointed out or become apparent from a consideration of the description following taken in connection with accompanying drawings illustrating an operative embodiment.

Insaid drawings: 7 Figure 1 is a view of the device in side elevation, showing the ladder fragmentarily, in lowered position in full lines and in raised position in dotted lines;

Figure 2 is aplan view of the parts of Figure 1; I

Figure 3 is a substantially central longitudinal sectional View taken on the line 33 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the parts mounted on the turn table, alone;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view taken on the line 55 of Fig. 4;

Figure 6 is a sectional View taken on the line 66 of Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a sectional view taken on the line 7-7 of Figure 4, and Figure 8 is a sectional view taken on the line 88 of Figure 4.

Referring specifically to the drawings, 10 designates a suitable support which may be the turn table of a fire fighting truck. Fastened to such turn table are skeleton bearing frames 11 which journal a transverse rod or shaft 12, detachably fastened therein, and on which the stiles 13 of a ladder 14 are pivoted, such stiles preferably having brackets 15 through which the rod 12 directly passes.

Fastened to the stlles 13 are rods 16 which are secured by means of pins 17 to rods 18 extending from the ends of such stiles. On the pins 17, links 19 are pivotally connected and which at their other ends are pivotally connected to the opposite ends of a cross head 20.

A jack screw 21 has its forward end portion 22 rotatably and detachablyconnected to the cross head 20. Such jack screw 21 is engaged by a nut 23 which is held stationary relatively thereto and mounted in a bracket 24 fastened to or supported on the ring or turn table 10. Said jack screw 21' eX- tends into a rotatable sleeve or shaft 25, one end of which extends into and is journaled in the bracket 24. Such shaft 25 on its interior has diametrically opposite longitudinally eX- tending slots 26 into which the opposite ends of a pin 27, carried by the jack screw, eX- tend, so that the rotation of the shaft 25 will cause the jack screw to turn and as well move longitudinally relatively thereto in View of its engagement with the fixed nut 23., Adj acent the inner end, the hollow shaft 25 is journaled in a bearing 28 consisting of the sections 29 and 30 which are detachably connected together as at 31. Keyed on the hollow shaft 25 is a spur gear wheel 32 which is in mesh with a pinion 33. Said pinion is keyed to the main shaft 34 of an electric motor 35 carried by a mounting bracket 36. The shaft 34 is journaled in bearings 37 and 38, the latter forming a part of the section 30. In parallelism and on opposite sides of the longitudinal median line of the motor shaft 34, are housings or cylinders 40 for relative ly strong expansive coil springs 41. Said' housings 4O consist of similar sections 42 having flanges 43 bolted together as at 44. 'In tegral with the innermost sections 42, are the brackets or bearings 36 and 37, and the hearing sections'29. Said housings 40- have cars 45 at their rear ends which engage an anchor rod 46 which is mounted in brackets 47 secured to the 'turn table or support 10. The expansive action of the springs 41 to raise the ladder from the full to the dotted line position of Figure 1 is exerted on the cross head 20 through themedium of plungier rods 48 secured to the cross head and having heads or plates 49 located within the housings 40 as shown in Figure 4.

The electric motor may receive current from any desired source and the gears are of such nature, particularly the pitch of the thread of the jack screw 21 and coacting nut 23, that the ladder will remain in any position or angle to which it is adjusted and will be unaffected by the expensive action of the springs 41. It will thus be seen that when the ladder is to be raised, the motor 35 is energized so that the springs 41 may serve to elevate the ladder and to the extent permitted by the movement of the cross head 20. Such motor 35 is of the reversible type and is operated in the direction reverse to that stated in order to lower the ladder 14 and at the same time retract the cross head 20 and cause the plates 49 to compress the springs 41.

Attention is directed to the particular location of the motor 35 and cross head 20 and operating parts between such cross head and the motor in view of the fact that their arrangem'ent relatively to the cylinders 40 and springs 41 therein enables all of the parts to have direct action or force on the ladder and greatly facilitates the elevation of the ladder.

Various changes may be resorted to provided they fall within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention 1. An apparatus of the class described comprising a cross head, a jack screw rotatably connected therewith, a fixed nut coacting with the jack screw, means operable to turn the jack screw, means to urge movement of the cross head.

2. An apparatus of the class described comprising a cross head, means to urge movement thereof, a jack screw loosely connected to the cross head, a bearing, a fixed nut carried by said bearing and through which the jack screw passes, a hollow sleeve journaled in said bearing, a connection whereby the turning of said sleeve turnssaid jack screw, and means operable to turn the sleeve.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising a cross head, means to urge move ment thereof, a jack screw loosely connected to the cross head, a bearing, a fixed nut carried by said bearing and through which the jack screw passes, a hollow sleeve journaled in said bearing, a connection whereby the turning of said sleeve turns said jack screw, means operable to turn the sleeve comprising a gear wheel on said sleeve, a motor, and a gear con nection between said motor and said gear wheel.

- 4. An apparatus of the class described comprising a support, casings thereon, a cross head, means within the casings urging move ment of the cross head, a jack screw journaled on the cross head, a bearing having a fixed nut through which the jack screw passes,

a hollow shaft journaled at one end in said bearing, a connection whereby rotation of the shaft turns the jack screw, a gear wheel on said shaft, means to drive said gear wheel, and a bearing for the hollow shaft spanning said casings.

5. An apparatus of the class described comprising a support, casings thereon, a cross head, means within the casings urging movement of the cross head, a jack screw journaled on the cross head, a bearing having a fixed nut through which the jack screw passes, a hollow shaft ournaled at one end in said bearing, a connection whereby rotation of the shaft turns the jack screw, a gear wheel on said shaft, means to drive said gear wheel, a bearing for the hollow shaft spanning said casings, said means to drive the gear wheel comprising a motor, a support for said motor spanning said casings, a drive shaft extending from the motor and journaled in the second mentioned bearing, and a gear wheel on the drive shaft in mesh with the first mentioned gear wheel.

6. An apparatus of the class described comprising a support, casings thereon, a cross head, means within the casings urging movement of the cross head, a jack screw journaled on the cross head, a bearing having a fixed nut through which the jack screw passes, a hollow shaft journaled at one end in said bearing, a connection whereby rotation of the shaft turns the jack screw, a gear wheel on said shaft, means to drive said gear wheel, a hearing for the hollow shaft spanning said casings, said means to drive the gear comprising a motor, a support for said motor spanning said casings, a drive shaft extending from the motor and journaled in the second mentioned bearing, a gear wheel on the drive shaft in mesh with the first mentioned gear wheel, links extending from the cross head, mounting brackets, a ladder pivoted to the mounting brackets, rods secured to the ladder, pins connecting the rods together, and said links being pivoted to said pins. 7

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

CHARLES M. DEAN. 

